Friday, August 24, 2007

Mecklenburg supports transit rax, barely

According to a Charlotte Observer/WCNC Poll 52% of Mecklenburg residents support keeping the county's half-cent sales tax for mass transit projects like buses and light rail. 45% oppose the tax. A vote on the tax, which was initially approved by referendum in 1998, is scheduled for the November ballot.

I don't have the complete crosstabs, but the article linked to above does a job explaining what groups favor or oppose the tax. Interestingly, Republicans support the tax at a higher rate than Democrats. Also, poorer residents said they were less likely to use the mass transit system, while the wealthiest residents were the most likely to ride. That's opposite the conventional wisdom on who would most benefit from mass transit.

2 comments:

"Interestingly, Republicans support the tax at a higher rate than Democrats."

This is very interesting indeed. It makes me wonder why Republicans always try to scare voters by saying "Democrats want to raise your taxes." Could it be that average voters, regardless of party, realize that you can't get something for nothing in that if you want government services, you'll have to pay for them?

People say that they don't want new taxes. But many will support new taxes to pay for something they want.

It just comes down to what people are willing to spend money on. Most are willing to spend money on schools and roads. It seems that in Charlotte not everyone is willing to spend money on mass transit-- though some are.